FOXlight: Scott Eastwood says integrity as important to him as it is to his dad

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Family values: Clint's son knows what's important in life

Scott Eastwood steps into The Foxlight

NEW YORK – Welcome to the FOXlight - our very FIRST - and hopefully not our last - weekly column. We’ll pull back the curtain and take you backstage and behind the scenes with our firsthand experiences with some of the biggest stars … shows ... anything and everything in show business. Now let’s get down to some business of our own:

In the year since we started In the FOXlight on-air, we’ve talked to Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, Sandra Bullock, Hollywood "it" girl Jennifer Lawrence, and pop sensation One Direction – just to drop a few names. But none have elicited the kind of “O-M-G” response from women and yes, more than a few fellas, than this guy: Scott Eastwood.

Get used to the name and face folks, it shouldn’t be tough. His star is on the rise. Needless to say, we jumped at the chance to catch Eastwood shooting the movie Fury with Brad Pitt in London, and sat for a 30-minute interview with the young star.

Promptly arriving at the address of his friend’s Picadilly Circus-area London flat, Eastwood answered the door himself. Asking if we wanted coffee, little did we know he’d run down the street to get it himself! Even carried it back for us, as if he were some intern, rather than the star and “son-of-a-legend” we came to know.

Wearing a navy knit Armani blazer that’s a fashion must, Eastwood said he was honored we had traveled so far to see him. Right out of the gate, he told us we could ask anything.

So, first off, while it appears Scott Eastwood has come out of nowhere, he’s been quietly working for 10 years, intentionally flying under the radar, developing his craft and using his mother’s last name, Reeves. In his words, he wanted to earn the right to carry the Eastwood name. When we asked what the Eastwood brand meant to him, he had this to say:

“My old man is a man of few words. But he would probably say it’s integrity. Regardless if what you do in the world, you do it good. You do your best and you show up on time and you leave and you do a good job and you treat people the way you want to be treated.”

So does he take this philosophy and apply it to the projects he chooses?

“Absolutely. I’ll probably not be the best actor in Hollywood, and I am okay with that. But I will be the hardest working one, and I’ll be the one that people like to work with because I show up on time and I don’t complain.”

Hard work, showing up on time with no attitude, and no complaining - in Hollywood? Refreshing, to say the least. That’s probably why so many people are impressed with young Eastwood.

“My manager, and my agent, when I told him I was moving to San Diego from L.A., he said it was going to be the end of my career, and he said it would ruin my career. But I told him I was going to do it my way.”

And that’s what he’s done. While Scott relishes his privacy, we asked what he wants people to know about him.

“Well, I’ve never had that question asked of me before. I’m just happy to be working. And just that people know that I feel very lucky and very privileged and lucky to be working in a time that not many people are. I think it’s just humility. I don’t think a lot of people have that in this business.”

Before we offer our overall impression, let us present Scott Eastwood in what we will be calling The Foxlight Flash … his thoughts on a variety of issues:

On The Pressure of Growing up Eastwood:

“You can only do what you can do in this world. If you start thinking of all the white noise out there, I think you’ll go crazy.”

On Faith:

“I think regardless of what your religion is or what you believe, you try to treat people in a positive way, and that’s all you can do in life.”

On Being a Man’s Man:

“A man’s got a lot of definitions these days. A man of his word, they say they’re going to be there and they show up and they don’t bitch and moan.”

On Working With his Dad:

“He’s tough on me. He’s very old school and he doesn’t want anyone thinking that anyone is getting special treatment”

On Flying under the Radar:

“Oh that’s on purpose! There’s a reason for that, you know? People that want to be in the limelight or want to be where the paparazzi are,  they put themselves in that position for the most part … It’s just not for me.”

It was hard not to be impressed. Scott Eastwood exudes all the confidence of his legendary father, with a gracious humility and professional discipline that seems to be lacking in a lot of young Hollywood these days. Needless to say, he made our day.

But the biggest stars happen to be you guys, our viewers. We shined the FOXLight on you and asked what your favorite Clint Eastwood movie is. This was what you all had to say:

And for the record, it seems one of my personal faves was the #1 pick among you all … Gran Torino.

That's a wrap for this week! Coming up next Thursday, on FOX & Friends FIRST and FOX & Friends … it’s Halloween! So what better way to celebrate than going behind the scenes of the Broadway smash Wicked, marking its 10-year anniversary.

Please let us know if you’re dressing up for Halloween, and if so as what, by tweeting @FOXLightMichael.

Catch ya’ next time …